In an effort of improving challenges of schools infrastructure, the North West Department of Education MEC, Viola Motsumi assembled the department’s senior management and different stakeholders to a two-day infrastructure lekgotla on 18-19 April 2023 at Kgaswane Country lodge in Rustenburg.
During the meet and greet roadshow held by MEC Motsumi across the province, different stakeholders requested the department to hold an infrastructure lekgotla in order to deal with the conditions of the schools.
Challenges raised throughout the session include but not limited to efficiency in management, maintenance of structures, human capital, and supply chain management.
MEC Motsumi during her opening of lekgotla made a stern call for participants not to make these sessions a talk show, but to bring about tangible deliverables to better the system for the benefit of North West posterity.
“I don’t want this lekgotla to become a talk show without any tangible results. As managers we should not spend time in our offices but to be in schools monitoring curriculum delivery and school conditions.
“This lekgotla should be held annually and it is going to be a tool to monitor progress of infrastructure delivery. I have observed that some directorates operate in silos, we need to unite so that we can achieve more. After this lekgotla we should go back and implement all the resolutions. There is no money which will be returned back to treasury now. In each and every quarter we should spend 25% of our budget. We shouldn’t wait for the end of the financial year to know how much money we have spent”, said MEC Motsumi.
Participants separated into breakaway sessions and resolutions to be implemented include:
-Human capacitation from the district level to reduce backlog,
-Filling up of vacant positions in the Infrastructure Unit
-Retention of professionals by establishing infrastructure offices in the major cities- Rustenburg and Potchefstroom, consistent monitoring of project,
-Management of implementing agents,
-Review of Memorandum of understanding with the implementation agencies,
-Stern strategies to improve on expenditure to be identified.
MEC Motsumi indicated that those officials who are not ready to deliver services to the people of the North West should excuse themselves from work and that these resolutions will guide the department throughout this financial year.
For more information please contact:
Elias Malindi
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell:072 115 4855/072 892 8399
